KOTA KINABALU: The Armed Forces are mobilising manpower to assist in the evacuation of flood victims, as well as enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in Sabah.
Fifth Infantry Division Commander Major General Datuk Mohd Halim Khalid said the army is committed to helping the state government and local authorities in flooded areas.
This includes the distribution of food aid to displaced villagers and making sure cut-off villages receive much-needed food supply.
Today, Halim visited several temporary evacuation centres here to monitor tasks carried out by army personnel.
During his visit, he mingled with evacuees and listened to a briefing by the evacuation centre management committee.
Apart from assisting in the evacuation process and food distribution, army personnel also provided free medical health check-ups to flood evacuees.
Earlier, Halim visited several roadblock posts to inspect and get a better understanding of the tasks carried out by armed forces personnel.
Meanwhile, the roadblock posts involve the mobilisation of personnel from the 507th Regiment Territorial Army and members of the Royal Malaysian Navy.
Armed Forces personnel are to assist the police force with enforcement during the MCO, and to ensure that the public complies with the standard operating procedures (SOP) in an effort to break the Covid-19 infection chain.
"The Fifth Infantry Division has mobilised 13 officers and 324 personnel of various ranks to conduct roadblock duty, patrols, and security control.
"At the moment, there are 25 roadblock posts involving the deployment of the army to assist the police during the imposition of the MCO in Sabah," said Halim.
His visit to the evacuation centres and roadblock posts was part of Op Murni and Op Penawar.
Today, Sabah registered 526 new Covid-19 cases, while 369 patients were discharged from hospitals state-wide.
A total of 65 roadblocks were also carried out, which saw 30,471 vehicles inspected and 158 vehicles ordered to return to their destination of origin.
Police also issued 40 compounds to road users for violating SOP.